Random Friday

Here is some Friday randomness:

• New meeting location, new meeting time (10am), and new series (5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life) this Sunday at Elevate!
  
• We have been praying months for this opportunity and I am super excited about what God is going to do in the months ahead at our new meeting location.
• I got the key, alarm code, and the walk thru last night at the new facility. It is really happening!
• We are setting up at 6pm on Saturday evening. We would love for you to be there if you can make it. We will set up, have a time of prayer, and have dinner together!
• Saturday is also our first Saturday Serve Day at 10am. We are meeting in front of the Ultra Star Cinemas at the Del Mar Highlands Shopping Center. All we need you to do is show up ready to serve!
• I took Naomi out on a Daddy/daughter date the other night to P.F. Chang's. Here is a picture before we left. We had a great time! I asked her what was her favorite thing to do was and she said, "Dates with Daddy." :-)
• Ava fell asleep by the kitchen the other day. Look at this precious little girl.
• This is a great quote by C.S. Lewis: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, & if true,of infinite importance. Only thing it cannot be is moderately important." Wow, that's good!
• Keep praying for little Kate McCrae. Her parents have some tough decisions to make.
  

5 Easy Steps To Wreck Your Life

This Sunday at Elevate is going to be incredible! We are starting a new series, baptizing during the service, meeting in a new location, AND at a new time.

I am excited out of my mind about what God is doing and what He is about to do.

Our service now starts at 10am so be sure to invite everyone you know, especially since they get to sleep in a little more now! :-)

Our new series called 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life kicks off this Sunday. Learn what to look for BEFORE it ever happens!

Called to Greatness

It's called the Great Commandment NOT the good commandment. It's called the Great Commission NOT the good commission.

God has called you to greatness for His Kingdom! Don't ever forget that. God is in the business of calling imperfect people who are willing to risk everything to worship Him and submit their whole lives to Him.

God is in the business of taking the natural and making it supernatural. He is in the business of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.

There was nothing special about the original 12 disciples of Jesus. He didn't call one religious professional to His inner circle. Jesus wasn't concerned about their credentials either.

He was looking for people who realized when they gave their whole Lives to Jesus that He was going to rock their world!

Don't settle for anything less than greatness for God's Kingdom. Put everything on the line. Risk it all for Him. That truly is the only life worth living!

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

• It was the last week in the theater and it was awesome.
  
• We had people write thank you cards to the employees of the theater and we gave them a cake saying thank you.
• One of the employees cried, hugged me, and said thank you for being such loving people. That is called making a difference!
• We had some new people and new kids in the children's ministry.
• We are close to having a Children's Director. Keep praying! It will be a huge win for our church.
• It was the last week of our series called Unstoppable. This series was all about Jesus and church following the Unstoppable God to become the unstoppable church He has called us to be.
• The vision has never been more clear and I am pumped about where God is leading us!
• We talked about being Unstoppable Idiots during the message.
• Jesus doesn't call the prepared. He prepares the called.
• He is in the business of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Taking the natural and making it supernatural!
• Acts 4:13 is incredible. There was nothing special about the disciples. The people could tell that these men had been with Jesus!
• Unstoppable Idiots give their whole lives to Jesus! (Luke 5:8-11)
• I am thankful for the "Idiots" who moved with us 2,000 miles across the country to start Elevate.
• I am thankful for the "Idiots" at Elevate who believe God at His word and that He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20) He is about to blow our minds!
• Remember this Sunday: New Meeting time: 10am! New Meeting location: Coast Volleyball Club. It's on Sorrento Valley Road.
  
• This Saturday, January 30th is our first Saturday Serve Day at 10am!
• Saturday at 6pm we are setting up for our first service. We will set up, pray, and have dinner together! If you can make it, all you have to do is show up!
  

Random Friday

Here is some Friday randomness:

• It is the last week of our Unstoppable series this Sunday. It is also our last week in the theater.
• We are giving our outreach portion of our offering last week AND this week to Samaritan's Purse.
  
• We plan on blessing the people at the theater too. Don't miss it!
  
• You can listen to last week's message here called Unstoppable Partners.
  
• Sunday, January 30th will be our first week in the new facility! Here is a map to the new location.
• Ava is growing up! She is crawling now.
• We started our basketball season with an 0 - 2 start. Not looking good so far.
• What is going on with my Tarheels?! They have lost three straight games.
  
• We start a new semester of small groups this coming week. Send us an email if you are interested in getting connected.
• American Idol has been hilarious so far. My favorite part of the season is the first round of auditions.
• I am glad 24 has started back. I'm ready to see Jack Baur save the world again this season.
• Where is San Diego? Rain and more rain this whole week. I feel like I am back in South Carolina with this weather.
• Please pray for little Kate McCrae who has brain cancer. Reading about her story puts everything in perspective.
• I can't believe the Chargers got beat on Sunday. Now I'm pulling for a Favre vs. Manning showdown in the Super Bowl.
• Mark Batterson had a great post called leadership lessons from Brett Favre.
  

Living For ONE

I read a quote from Abraham Lincoln that said:

"You can please all of the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but you can never please all of the people all the time."

That is so true! You will drive yourself crazy if you try please everyone. It can not happen. You must remember that your value and worth comes from Jesus NOT what someone says abut you.

You are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus came for you, gave His life for you, and is coming back for you one day. Your value comes from who He is and what He has done for you!

Are you living for the approval others or the approval of God? (Galatians 1:10)

If you are afraid of criticism or what others think, then never say anything or do anything. Otherwise, realize to do something for Jesus you will face critics. Why? Jesus' critics nailed him to a cross.

I decided a long time ago that I want to strive to live for an audience of One: Jesus! Yes, I struggle with this at times but I constantly remember that at the end of my life I will have to give an account to Jesus and so will you one day. (Romans 14:12; Hebrews 4:13; Hebrews 13:7)

Start seeking Jesus now! Put Him first in your life (Matthew 6:33) and live for an audience of One: Jesus.

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday:

• It was week three in our Unstoppable series and we talked about being Unstoppable Partners.
  
• Our mission is to lead people to become passionate followers of Christ and I shared four ways to partner with us to see this happen.
• 1) Take responsibility for Growth. Spiritual Growth and Numerical growth.
• We do not exist to cuddle and spoon feed Christians. If you are a Christian, it is time to pick up your fork and feed yourself.
• If you say you are not getting "fed" at church, it's not an indictment on the church or pastor. It's an indictment on your own spirituality. Two great internet sources I use regularly and encourage you to check out is: Bible Gateway and YouVersion. Pick up your Bible and read it!
• Who do you need to be praying for this year? How can God use you to reach them for Christ and invite them to church? Begin praying now every day.
• 2) Use your gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:14-27, Ephesians 4:11-12)
  
• God has given everyone talents and abilities to be used through the local church to reach people for Jesus. What are you doing with yours?
  
• Jesus, who is the God of this universe, washed the disciples feet. An unwillingness to serve and do whatever it takes shows your anything BUT living like Jesus.
  
• You are never more like Jesus than when you are serving others!
• 3) Give Generously.
• You may say you can't afford to give. I would say you can't afford not to give. Put God first through the tithe and see what He can do (Malachi 3:10).
• Jesus said "where your heart is there your treasure will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21) Jesus doesn't need your money. He wants your heart and He knows the way to it many times is through your wallet. If you want to know what you really care about, then look at where you spend your money.
• By the way, we don't need your money. "If it's God's will, it's God's bill." He has provided every step of the way for our church. It is about what we want for you not from you. Let's be a generous church!
• 4) Get in a Group.
• We are launching a new semester of small groups next week. Email us and get connected.
• The band sang Spring of Life by Kristian Stanfill. It is an awesome song!
• One more week in the theater. Our last Sunday in the theater is January 24th.
  
• Our first Sunday in the new location is January 31st. Here is a link to the map of the location. Here is some more info about the move.
• A portion of our offering this week and next Sunday are going to Samaritan's Purse to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. If you weren't prepared to give this Sunday, be prepared to give big for Haiti this coming Sunday!
  
• This Sunday is the last week of our Unstoppable series. Don't miss it!
  

Moving to a New Location

Last Sunday one of the things we shared is that we are moving locations. You can listen to the message right here which I highly encourage if you weren't able to make it. Here are some details and reasons why we are moving.

1) Location Details:

First of all, here is a link to the new location. It is located on Sorrento Valley Road. The road connects Carmel Mountain Road and Mira Mesa Blvd. It is located just west of the 5. We will be meeting at the Coast Volleyball Facility which is owned by the Boys and Girls Club of San Dieguito. Here is the address: 11526 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, 92121.

2) Meeting at a more optimal time:

Our service will begin at 10am instead of 9am. We want to reach people who are not going to church. Every research I have ever read about church attendance says that the majority of people who will attend church will do it on a Sunday morning. The usual time they are willing to attend is between the 10 and 11 o' clock hour.

I make no apologies about wanting to do whatever it takes short of sin to reach more people for Jesus. If us meeting at a later time will help, then let's do it!

I know what you are thinking: "Why don't we just meet an hour later at the theater?" The answer is simple. It would cost us double what we are paying now to meet an hour later because we would be required to buy out shows they would run at that time. It simply is not the wise thing to do with the resources God has entrusted us with.

3) More time after the Service:

As I talk to other church planters and pastors, our number one obstacle that many see is our lack of time after the service. We are required to be out of the theater by 10:30am. Yes, you read that right. Our service is currently at 9am and we typically have less than 30 minutes to get all of our equipment out which includes: sound system, preschool equipment, elementary kids equipment, signs, and other resources we provide.

It is crazy but some how for the past year our volunteers have made it happen. We have found it hard though for many new people to connect because it is such a rush after the service.

At our new facility we will have more than an hour to tear down which is over double the amount of time we currently have. It will allow us to spend more time connecting with new people after the service and allowing our regular attenders a chance to connect as well since we are not being forced out.

4) More time options:

At our new facility we have the option to extend our time, rent it for Sunday evening, or even during the week if we choose. It gives us more flexibility AND pay the same hourly rate no matter what time of the day we choose.

5) Signage:

You may be aware but we are currently very limited to signs we are allowed to put up at the theater. We are also not allowed to set anything up on the outside of the theater. We learned that lesson the hard way at our very first service when we tried to set up our cafe table outside the front door of the theater. :-)

At our new location, we will be able to put up a lot more signs. Also, we will be the only ones using the parking lot on Sunday which allows us to implement a parking team, provide front row guest parking, have music playing outside, etc.

6) It's Time to Move

The theater has been good to us but it has been clear to us through much prayer and these above reasons that it is a good fit for us at this time.

Church is about people NOT a building. I never want to get so attached to a building I would not be willing to move if it meant we could potentially reach more people.

I am excited Elevate! The best is yet to come!

Year Two Here We Come

Yesterday I shared some highlights from the first year of ministry at Elevate Church. Last Sunday we took some time to celebrate all God has done in the first year of our church. We also talked about where we are heading in year two at Elevate. Below are some of the highlights:

• We are moving to a new location starting January 31st! We will begin meeting at the Coast Volleyball Facility on Sorrento Valley Road. The road connects Carmel Mountain Road and Mira Mesa Blvd. It is located right off the 5. Here is a map of the location. We are also meeting at a more optimal time. We will begin meeting for our Sunday Service at 10am instead of 9am.
• We are currently looking for a Children's Director. Go here for the details. Pray for us to find the RIGHT person for the job. Pass it along to someone you think could be interested.
• We are starting message based small groups to bring more focus to our groups and connect them to what is happening on Sundays.
• We are getting more involved in our community. We are beginning Saturday Serve Days once a month. The first one is Saturday, January 30th.
• We are getting involved globally. Two causes we are going to help fight this year are Sex Trafficking and water for third world communities who don't have clean water. I will share more about the causes and how we are getting involved in the next week or two.
• We had approximately 15,000 touches last year showing the love of Jesus in practical ways to people. This year we are going for 30,000.

Everything we are doing is for one reason: to lead people to become passionate followers of Christ!

Year Two here we come!

Year One in Review

Yesterday I put the highlight video on here from Year One at Elevate Church. Below are some of the things we celebrated that God did during the first year of ministry at Elevate.

• We launched on January 11th, 2009 with 152 people.
• We had 22 people who gave their lives to Christ this past year!
• We had dozens more who made other commitments throughout the year during our Services.
  
• We had over 800 people attend our first Easter Eggstravaganza event.
  
• This past semester we added more small groups and had over 70% of our people connected in groups.
  
• We made approximately 15,000 touches this past year by sharing the love of Jesus in practical and tangible ways: passing out free water, free hot dogs, feeding the homeless, feeding the theater employees multiple times, beach volleyball tournaments, sports camp, Block Parties, providing care packages to the military, and providing gift bags to the local businesses.
• We gave away over $8,000 to help with church planting and missions across the United States.
• We want to be a generous church so we began giving away over 10% of everything we receive through tithes and offerings to not only help reach people in San Diego but across the world too.

One thing is for sure, we are not slowing down or backing off! In another post I will share some of the things we are doing in year two as we seek to lead people to become passionate followers of Christ.

Greater things are still to come. Even greater things are still to be done!

One Year Highlight Video

We watched this Highlight Video of Year One at Elevate Church during our One Year Celebration this past Sunday. You can click here to watch the video if you can't see it below. God is great!

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from our One year Anniversary:

• It is hard to believe that we started Elevate one year ago on January 11th, 2009. God has been so good and has done incredible things over this past year.
• Our One Year Anniversary was an all out celebration of what God has done AND what He is going to do this year.
• We had cake, party bags for people, a highlight video of this past year and more.
  
• I think the church is terrible at celebrating some times. We have the greatest reason on this planet to celebrate: Jesus! The most exciting place should not be the NFL Playoffs or anything else but the church!
• We had 22 people step from death to life last year! People who turned from sinners to saints, from darkness to light, from Hell to Heaven!
• We gave away almost $9,000 to church planting and missions this past year.
• We made approximately 15,000 touches through serving our community and in practical ways showing the love of Jesus to others.
• I announced that we are praying and seeking a Children's Director at Elevate. Disney spends millions to tell kids about Hannah Montana. Why would we not be willing to invest resources to reach kids for Jesus? I can't wait to see what God does!
• I also announced that we are moving locations! Starting January 31st we will begin meeting at 10am at the Coast Volleyball Facility on Sorrento Valley Road. Here is a map to check out the location.
• We can talk all day about how we love God and love people but the way to prove it is through serving the world!
• We are going to make a difference in the Sex Trafficking that is a problem in San Diego and across the world. More details to come.
• We are getting involved with Living Water International. It is senseless that 2.2 million people will die this year because they don't have clean water.
  
• We are starting Saturday Serve Days where once a month on a Saturday we will serve our community.
• You can listen to the message on Itunes here or online here.
• Get ready Elevate Church! Greater things are still to come. Greater things are still to be done!
  

Random Friday

Here are some random thoughts for Random Friday:

• We are celebrating one year at Elevate this Sunday. I have some amazing things to share about this past year and a BIG announcement too! Please do whatever you have to do to be there this Sunday!
• It is also week 2 in our Unstoppable series and I will be talking about an Unstoppable Vision.
• It is great to be back in San Diego where the average temperature for this past week has been around 70 degrees. Sorry East Coast people. :-)
• You need to watch this short video called Come Home. It moves me every time I watch it. It is based off the story of the prodigal son in the Bible.
• We had breakfast for dinner the other night. It is one of my favorites!
  
• We are looking for a Children's Director at Elevate Church. Check out the link and forward it to someone you think may be interested.
• I can't believe my UNC Tarheels got beat by Charleston earlier this week. Charleston is good but that is still an embarrassing loss.
  

Celebrating One Year!

I feel like I am about to bust out of my skin because I am so excited about this Sunday!

On January 10th, it will be one year since we started Elevate Church. What an incredible ride! The first year went by so fast and we've got a lot to celebrate.

I can't wait to share some BIG news on Sunday as well as where we are heading in 2010.

One thing is for sure we are advancing! (Matthew 11:12)

Elevate Church, I love you and I am so thankful to be on this journey with you.

"Greater things are yet to come. Greater things are still to be done in this city."

See you Sunday!

What's At The Door?

I am reading through the Bible and using some plans from YouVersion.com. If you aren't reading your Bible regularly, check out these plans and get started!

I was reading the Book of Genesis and Genesis 4:7 stood out the other day, "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Cain was jealous of his brother Abel and eventually it led to him killing his very own brother.

I guarantee Cain didn't just wake up one day and say "I think I'm going to find my brother and kill him." Sin never works like that.

The old saying is "Sin will take you further than you want to go, make you stay longer than you wanted to stay, and make you pay a price you never intended to pay."

Sin is fun...for a season! Then comes destruction (James 1:14-15).

Take a look at the Tiger Woods story: He had a beautiful wife, great kids, at the top of the world in his profession, and all of the money he could ever imagine. He had everything the world said he needs. I guarantee he didn't wake up one day and say today I am going to commit adultery on my wife. Sin never starts that big. It is always small compromises that begin to add up and take us over the edge.

By the way, what happened to Tiger Woods is the same thing that would happen to you or me if it weren't for the grace of God! The moment you say or think that would never happen to you is the moment you enter the path that could lead to destruction for you, your family, or ministry.

It scares me to death to think that this could ever be me, and I know it could be without God's mercy and grace in my life. Sin is crouching at your door what are you doing to master it?

Sin overtakes us when we put anything before Jesus. We have got to sell out to Jesus and to put our eyes upon the One who gave it ALL for us. Tiger Woods needs Jesus, I need Jesus, and so do you! Don't ever get over the cross!

The moment you forget about the incredible price Jesus paid for you is the moment you forget what He can and wants to do through you! Colossians 1:27: CHRIST in YOU the hope of glory!

Put up the guardrails in your life! Protect your thoughts and your heart. Fight for your family and do whatever it takes to master the sin.

Sin leads to destruction BUT Jesus bring LIFE!

Children's Director Position

We have been praying for some time about what to do next in regards to our children's ministry. We know if we are ever going to get serious about reaching families we must commit to bringing someone in to focus on that.

I believe when we find the right person who has a passion for families and reaching kids we could easily double or triple the amount of kids we currently are reaching for Jesus.

I truly believe children are not only the hope of the future BUT also the hope of today. The parents could have an incredible experience at church but if their kids didn't enjoy church they aren't coming back.

We want kids to LOVE going to church and for them to beg their parents to bring them back next week.

The bottom line: we want to teach kids about Jesus, make sure they have a ton of fun while we do it, and we are investing in making sure this happens.

We have some amazing volunteers who have stepped up to oversee different areas of our E-Kids ministry and it is time to bring in a children's director to help oversee the groundwork of what they have done.

Is it you? Could it be someone you know?

A couple of things before you respond:

• You must love Jesus.
• You must love kids.
• You must be passionate about the vision of Elevate Church.
• You have to be a leader. Someone who can oversee volunteers and raise up more volunteers.
• The position will begin as part time and as the ministry grows will become full time.
  

Send me an email if you are interested (Kevin@Elevatesandiego.com) OR I would appreciate it if you forward this to someone who you think may be interested.

Thanks! We are praying for God to send the RIGHT person for the job and can't wait to see what He is going to do.

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from our first Sunday in 2010:

• We started a series called Unstoppable and talked about following the Unstoppable God.
• God is unstoppable but many times we fail to recognize who He truly is. (Psalm 33:6-9)
  
• Can you honestly say you are closer to Jesus today than you were in 2009 or even last week for that matter? If not respond to His calling! (John 6:66-69 and Revelation 3:14-21)
• A new year isn't what gives you a fresh start. Jesus gives you a fresh start! (Lamentations 3:22-24)
• A lot of us start off the new year with good intentions but good intentions is not what God blesses. God blesses our action! What do you need to put into action in 2010?
  
• Let's begin not only to believe but truly live like we believe we follow an unstoppable God.
• We ended the service with everyone writing down their dreams, hopes, and goals for this year. They wrote on cards and brought them to the front as a symbol of giving them to Jesus. I look forward to praying over those and seeing them become a reality. Dream big!
• We hosted Momentum (our volunteer gathering) after the service. Really excited about some of the things we shared and what is ahead for Elevate Church.
• It is truly an honor to serve along side and lead our volunteers as well as Elevate Church.
• It is great to be back in San Diego and the weather is amazing as usual.
  
• We celebrate our one year anniversary this coming Sunday (January 10th)! It is hard to believe we started Elevate one year ago.
  
• I can't wait to share some huge news this Sunday and some of the awesome things we are going to a part of in 2010. Don't miss it!